To elaborate on Papal Teaching is our mission on Plinthos (Gk. "brick"); and to do so anonymously, so that, like any brick in the wall, we might do our little part in the strength of the structure of humanity almost unnoticed.

Friday, July 31, 2015

"Concern for the child, even before birth, from the first moment of conception and then throughout the years of infancy and youth, is the primary and fundamental test of the relationship of one human being to another..."

"...No country on earth, no political system can think of its own future otherwise than through the image of these new generations that will receive from their parents the manifold heritage of values, duties and aspirations of the nation to which they belong and of the whole human family..."

"...I wish to express the joy that we all find in children, the springtime of life, the anticipation of the future history of each of our present earthly homelands..."

"...And so, what better wish can I express for every nation and the whole of mankind, and for all the children of the world than a better future in which respect for human rights will become a complete reality throughout the third millennium..."

During those happy days decades ago when I taught American religious history to university students, I spent a chunk of time in class on the ugly phenomenon called nativism, defined by the scholar and author Ray Allen Billington as, “organized, white, Protestant antagonism toward the Catholic immigrant.”

It flourished in our country during the 1840s and 1850s — actually becoming a popular political party, the Know-Nothings — and appeared again, in the 1870s, as the American Protective Association; in the 1920s, as the KKK; and during post-World War II America, as Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

These nativists believed the immigrant to be dangerous, and that America was better off without them. All these poor degenerates did, according to the nativists, was to dilute the clean, virtuous, upright citizenry of God-fearing true Americans.

(Among other American minorities, it must be said, Catholics like me often drew the ire of nativists.)

I made the point to my students that nativism never really did disappear completely, but was a continual virulent strain in the American psyche, which would probably sadly show up again.

This point my students would not buy. “Father Dolan,” they would say, “there’s no denying that this bigotry was there in our past. But, come on! Who could ever believe now that immigrants are dirty, drunken, irresponsible, dangerous threats to clean, white, Protestant, Anglo-Saxon America! Those days are gone.”

I wish I were in the college classroom again, so I could roll out my “Trump card” to show the students that I was right. Nativism is alive, well — and apparently popular!

American historians describe two approaches to the immigrant. One is, sadly, the nativists, who see the unwashed, ignorant, bothersome brood as criminals and misfits who threaten “pure America,” and are toxic to everything decent in the United States. As journalism professor Paul Moses writes, this group believed that “American society was doomed, as the foundation stone of Plymouth Rock eroded with the crash of each immigrant wave.”

The second is the more enlightened and patriotic view. This approach sees the immigrant as a gift to our nation, realizing that the only citizens whose ancestors were not immigrants are the Native Americans. All of us here are descendants of newcomers.

Yes, this second group claims, we need to control our borders, fairly regulate immigration and be prudent in our policies and laws, but we are wise to consider the immigrant as good for our beloved nation. To welcome them is virtuous, patriotic and beneficial for the economic and cultural future of our country.

I am not in the business of telling people what candidates they should support or who deserves their vote. But as a Catholic, I take seriously the Bible’s teaching that we are to welcome the stranger, one of the most frequently mentioned moral imperatives in both the Old and New Testament.

As an American, I take equally seriously the great invitation and promise of Lady Liberty. It’s one of the reasons why I am so eager to share with Pope Francis the wonderful work being done by our Catholic Charities to assist immigrants who come to New York, and look to the church for assistance and a warm welcome. I guess, as a Catholic American, I’m a bit biased. Walt Whitman called my predecessor Archbishop John Hughes a “mitred hypocrite,” because the prelate defended his poor Irish immigrant flock — the Mexicans of his day — from the nativists. The same Whitman called the immigrants “these dregs of foreign filth, refuse of convents, scullions from monasteries . . .”

Thank God Walt Whitman stuck to poetry, and did not run for President.

1­. Throw away bad books and switch off harmful programs. “In this age of images, we have to do what was done in the age of books: choose those that make me a good person." “We need to learn how to choose programs, and this is our responsibility. If I see that a program is not good for me, that it undermines good values and makes me vulgar, or has scenes that aren't clean, I have to change the channel. Just like what was done in the 'stone age,' back when I was young: when a book was good, you read it, but when it harmed you, you threw it away."

2­. Flee from the slavery of computers. Fight against “bad fantasy, the fantasy that kills the soul. If you, who are young, live your life connected to the computer and become a slave to the computer, you lose your freedom. And if you seek material on the computer that is impure, you lose your dignity." Both on television and on the internet, “there are unclean things, ranging from pornography to semi-pornography."

3­. Say no to trash TV. Also be careful about “empty shows that don't promote good values: for example, shows that encourage relativism, hedonism, consumerism…. We know that consumerism is a cancer in our society. I will speak about this in the encyclical that will be published at the end of this month."

4­. Computers and TV's in common areas at home. “Some concerned parents don't allow computers in their children's bedrooms. Computers should be located in the common areas of the home. This is a small help the parents can implement" to prevent their children from being exposed to all types of bad things.

5­. No family meals with the cellphone. “Being too attached to computers, to mobile phones, etc. harms the soul and takes away freedom. You become enslaved to them. Many parents have told me that while eating at the table with their family, their children are in another world with their cellphones."

Pope Francis ended by saying: “the virtual world is a reality that we cannot ignore. We have to guide it along the right path, because it represents human progress. But when it takes us away from life in common with others, from family life, from social life, and also from sports, the arts…, and we become attached to the computer, then it's something pathological."

YouTube video, published on Oct 4, 2013 www.stlukesparish-bladensburg.org. www.facebook.com/StLukesCatholicParish. Then located near Washington D.C, St. Luke's Catholic Church is an Anglican-Use Parish, a part of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Originally an Anglo-Catholic parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, we were received and confirmed into the Catholic Church on October 9, 2011 by the Archbishop of Washington, Donald Cardinal Wuerl. We are in full communion with the Holy See and fulfill the regular Sunday obligation. Please visit our website for more details!

Please welcome Fr. Mark Lewis and St. Luke’s Ordinariate Catholic Community with a special letter to the parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church about a new and exciting moment in the history of our Catholic Church and in the life of our own parish.

Monsignor Watkins

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Fr. Mark Lewis, and I am the pastor of St. Luke’s Ordinariate Catholic Community. I know you have heard about the Ordinariate; this brief communication is to provide you with some additional information about our journey into the Catholic Church. In November 2009, then Pope Benedict XVI issued an Apostolic Constitution entitled Anglicanorum Coetibus (“Groups of Anglicans”), a structure that would allow for groups of Anglicans (as well as their pastors) to enter the Catholic Church while maintaining some aspects of Anglican patrimony. This, needless to say, sparked our interest.

Being a small multi-cultural Anglican parish, St. Luke’s was much more traditional than the trends taking place within Anglicanism. Thus, in February 2010, I and two lay leaders met with the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to discuss our future. During that meeting the Bishop suggested we might fit better within the structure of the Catholic Church. He asked that I contact (at that time) Archbishop Wuerl’s office to ascertain if they were interested in helping us to become Catholic. Over the next 17 months we used the time to pray and to examine more closely the Anglican tradition, in particular in comparison to Catholicism. What we discovered was truly the work of the Holy Spirit. We came to the conclusion (the belief) that we were not intending to move to the Church of Rome as a means of leaving The Episcopal Church, but were being drawn to its truth about Jesus and its theology-we discovered the need for Apostolic Authority.

On June 6, 2011, a joint statement from the Archdiocese of Washington and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington announced the intention of St. Luke’s parish to become Catholic. Fr. Scott Hurd of the Archdiocese was assigned as chaplain of St. Luke’s. Under the guidelines set forth by Rome and under the watchful eye of the Archdiocese of Washington we entered the catechetical process. On October 9, 2011, we were made Catholics, confirmed by Cardinal Wuerl in the Crypt Church of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. We became the first Episcopal Church in America to enter the Catholic Church through Pope Benedicts XVI’s Apostolic Constitution.

In January 2012, I along with about 40 other former Anglican clergy began an intense course of study approved and set forth by Rome. I was ordained a Deacon on June 2, 2012, and three weeks later was ordained a priest by Cardinal Wuerl at the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew.

When St. Luke’s became Catholic we entered into a leasing agreement with The Episcopal Diocese of Washington for the continued use of the church and rectory; that agreement, though, is nearing its completion. In an effort to help secure our future we sought the assistance of the Archdiocese of Washington. We were hoping to relocate to a place that would remain accessible to our current membership, while at the same time be more conducive to attracting all members of the Ordinariate in the greater DC area, as well as new members. When contacted by the Archdiocese, Msgr. Watkins graciously agreed to explore the possibility of St. Luke’s relocating its Masses to Immaculate Conception.

I look forward to worshipping in your magnificent Church! I also look forward to getting to know all of you as I will be assisting Msgr. Watkins when needed.

Please know your generosity will be helping to bring about the fulfillment of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s vision for the Ordinariate, as our mission involves both current and former Anglicans-we seek to bring as many home to Holy Mother Church as possible. Your generosity, and especially that of Msgr. Watkins, provides The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, as well as St. Luke’s, the best possible milieu for success.

I like the Venerable Pope Pius XII the most because he was the pope of my father's youth, also that of my spiritual directors' over the years, the pope under whom Pope Emeritus Benedict was ordained a priest and also Pope Saint John Paul II. It was during the reign of Pope Pius XII that Jorge Bergoglio entered seminary and the Jesuit novitiate. He was also the one who made Blessed Pope John XXIII a cardinal. It just seems to me that his solidly traditional papacy in a war torn world was the foundation of all of the great men of God of our era and of the great men who have most influenced me, including the past two popes, and the present pope, over the past half century and more.

Just to expound on one of the influences. The mentality and work of Ratzinger during the past more than half century began in his seminary years under this great pope and was guided by the light of the Pacelli papacy. Pacelli had been Papal Nuncio to the Kingdom of Bavaria and Germany. During the early days of his ecclesiastical career he worked closely with the master diplomat Cardinal Merry del Val and was consistently effective and promoted during all the papacies before his own reign. He was by far the churchman of greatest influence during the entire first half of the twentieth century. And it was Pope Emeritus Benedict who heroically named Pius XII Venerable.

I do confess that Benedict is my man, but the source of Benedict was largely Pius XII (in whom also breathed Pope Saint Pius X's spirit and that of his successors, hence the same name of close continuity)! That is why I love him so, because he was the great patriarch of our fathers! He received a great heritage which he loyally passed on.
And one other thing, he never gave communion in the hand, predating, providentially, the confused Novus Ordo! He lived, reigned, and died in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, the penultimate pope to do so! A true and most noble prince and great monarch of the Church, by God's design.
And, last, but not least, I love the Venerable Pope Pius XII above all the modern papacies because he loved and was so loved by the Jews., e.g Eugenio Zolli.

Lying upon you, like a white
Offering, there were flowers only.
From them your body drew the light,
Without them now the branch was lonely.
And as they gave their kiss to you,
Their life of fragrance was sent flowing.
From your closed eyes the light shone through:
You were resplendent, you were glowing.
Could I but be a flower’s sigh
And, like a lily, give you my
own self, so that my very being
Would fade away upon your breast
And never need again the rest
Of night, that from your side is fleeing.

Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción, Paraguay Local time: 16.50-Pope Francis meets the Youth of the country along the "Costanera" riverfront of Asunción, at the end of his apostolic journey to Latin America July 12, 2015.
It was an extraordinary gathering of evangelical enthusiasm with the Vicar of Christ and the Latin youth, encouraging them to love the Lord and to do something both youthful and good for the world from the Lord Jesus!

Minute 1:00:00 (One hour into the video)The other day, a priest jokingly said to me: “Yes, keep telling young people to make a ruckus. But afterwards, we are the ones who have to fix it”. So make a ruckus! But also help in fixing it. Two things: make a ruckus, but organize it well! A ruckus that shall give us a free heart, a ruckus that shall give us solidarity, a ruckus that shall give us hope, a ruckus that shall be born of having met Jesus and from knowing that God Whom I have met is my fortitude. That is the kind of ruckus for you to make......Help to organize the mess that you shall make so that it not destroy anything.

Coca-Cola, Ford and Xerox had their names pulled from the original list on the Planned Parenthood website.

Lobby your local state and federal government about this, and boycott all the above nefarious companies! to stop paying for this brazen criminality, killing commerce, youth corruption, and body part trafficking all central to the Planned Parenthood industry's mission.We forcefully oppose Planned Parenthood and, at the very least, will not pay for its corrupt business!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The stability of the Pastor is a canonical norm which is almost universally rejected with devastating consequences for priests and people as we see in the present iconoclasm of the new Pastor in one famous New York City Parish. The elephant in the room is priest term limits! The reward for a job well done is you get shuffled around. In the middle of the twentieth century Stalin's communists and America's Urban Renewal Project very well knew that stability is power, so they moved the masses around and thereby summarily destroyed the cities! Cf. E. Michael Jones, The Slaughter of the Cities.

I do get it. The bishop, who is often upward mobile (viz. temporary), needs to get control of his priests. So, he moves them around to control them, with little if any regard for the good of the parish and the people. It's all about the temporary bishop's needs. Solution: the Pope might make the bishops stay put, as the popes of yore! And thereby put an end to episcopal careerism, and to the ubiquitous abuse of temporary pastorates. The father of the family should be for life!

The real issue is not about the virtue of the two different pastoral liturgical preferences or modernity versus tradition. The real issue is term limits and temporary pastorates, without which there would not be a new Pastor at that midtown parish today and everything would be otherwise hunky-dory! Bishops please take a hint!

The Vatican II principle of subsidiarity would dictate that pastors should normally (aside from canonical crimes) be left permanently in their pastorates. The commitment should be for life. Diocesan priests did not sign up to be transient missionaries! That is the realm of the religious orders. Yet it is highly ironic that often the most stable parishes in dioceses are those of religious orders, which still, tragically, does not count for much!

Because he is the great pope of the various men who have proved large in my life, who formed me and bequeathed to me their Catholic heritage, which because of them is also mine, and continue to sustain me from heaven and on earth!

When I look back I cannot but experience a profound gratitude over the fact that the "prize-work" of those days [the 1951 {prize-winning} doctoral thesis: "People and House of God in Saint Augustine's Doctrine of the Church"] did not only open the door to a lifelong friendship with Saint Augustine, but also put me on the trail of the eucharistic ecclesiology and thus gave me a way to understand the reality of "Church" which agrees with the deepest intentions of the Second Vatican Council and at the same time ushers into the spiritual center of christian existence.

Concluding paragraph of the new 2011 Prologue to People and House of God in Saint Augustine's Doctrine of the Church in The Complete Works of Joseph Ratzinger, Vol. I, p. 9 (German edition).

Our Father, if you exist, I dare to turn to you.
If you exist, your name is holy: may it be sanctified.
If you exist, your kingdom is order, and likewise it's splendor: may your kingdom come.
If you exist, your will is the law of the world and the law of souls: may your will be done in all of us in everything, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us, if you exist, our daily bread, the bread of truth, the bread of wisdom, the bread of joy, the super-substantial bread which is promised to those who can recognize it.
If you exist, I have great debts towards you: grant that I will repay my debts, as I would willingly have myself repaid by those who owe me.
In the future, do not abandon me to temptation, but deliver me from every evil...

...The atheist has an obligation to pray thus. One may doubt; but can that sincere soul, going to the depths of his very being, with certitude, deny God? The conditional prayer is therefore an obligation and at the same time an useful appeal.

Zach Johnson won at The Masters National in Augusta, Georgia, USA in 2007 and this past Monday, at The Old Course at Saint Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the British Open. Would that he should return to the Sacraments!
"Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you." John 6:54b

Golfer Zach Johnson says his surprise win in this week's Open Golf tournament was partly inspired by his devotion to prayer and the Bible. The 39-year-old American was a rank outsider, but saw off the threat of emerging superstar Jordan Spieth to win the second Major of his career at St Andrews on Monday. A committed Christian, he told reporters that he'd been reading verses of scripture in order to stay focused throughout the tournament.

"I was reading bits of scripture to myself, things like Psalm 24:7 (which reads, "Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in")," he told reporters. "I've been reading them all week. I thank God for the talent he's given me, and I take it seriously." In a TV interview, he suggested that these verses had helped to give him focus during difficult conditions. "I had some scripture going in my head and I thank the Lord," he said.

Johnson's words in victory echoed his response to winning his previous Major, the US Masters, in 2007. After that win, he told the assembled media: "I felt regardless of what happened today, my responsibility was to glorify God, and hopefully he thinks I did."

The golfer has always been upfront about his faith. In a testimony article on the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) website, Johnson says that after growing up in a Catholic household and then heading off in a more worldly direction as a student, he became a Christian after meeting the woman who would go on to become his wife, and for whom marrying a non-Christian would be a 'deal-breaker'. He says he then agreed to explore the faith again.

"I discovered what it meant to 'live for Christ,'" he says, "and that it honestly was something I wanted to do. The facts were there, and I could sense the Holy Spirit at work. Early in the winter of 2002, I gave my life to the Lord. Before I was one," he says, "I always thought being a Christian would be boring. In reality, it has been the complete opposite."

Johnson now refers to his pre-Christian life (with not too much political correctness) as "my blind years", and says his faith now is "all that matters." Monday's victory, and the attached £1.15 million prize, are presumably just a huge bonus.

Martin Saunders is a Contributing Editor for Christian Today and the Deputy CEO of Youthscape. You can follow him on Twitter: @martinsaunders

I’ll try to give you the condensed version… I grew up in Iowa in a great Christian household where church was very important. I went to a Catholic school, so I had religion classes from first through 12th grade. My mom even worked at the church and the school. She just recently retired from that to work for the governing body of the archdiocese. So, I certainly grew up in a Christian household—Jesus was very much the foundation.

For me, however, it felt like I was just following the footsteps of friends and more or less doing what I was told to do. So, after high school, I went my own direction. It was Zach’s agenda; whatever I wanted to do, I did it. My faith didn’t carry much significance.

I graduated from Drake University in 1998 and started playing golf on the mini tours and traveling around the United States. In the winters I would go to Florida to practice.

Then, in 2000, I met a girl named Kim. I really liked her. We hit it off and soon started dating. I was still traveling during the summer seasons, but we maintained our relationship. Over time, I realized that faith in Christ was extremely important to her and that marrying a Christian man was pretty much a dealbreaker for her.

At that point in my life, I knew there was a God. I knew there was an ultimate creator—someone watching over things—but I didn’t give it much thought. In order for Kim and me to find out if we were best for each other, we took a pre-engagement class together at a church. Through that, not only were a lot of my questions answered, but a lot more surfaced. But that’s where God took over. With the research I did in response to those questions and with help from Kim and other Christian friends, I discovered what it meant to “live for Christ,” and that it honestly was something I wanted to do. The facts were there, and I could sense the Holy Spirit at work. Early in the winter of 2002, I gave my life to the Lord.

I refer to the years after high school and before making my decision as my “blind years.” Now, I can see.

Before I was one, I always thought being a Christian would be boring. In reality, it has been the complete opposite. There is joy, fulfillment and even fun! There also are challenges and trials, but knowing that my foundation lies in Jesus and what He has done for me is what is important. It’s all that matters.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

On September 17th, 1776 the San Francisco presidio was formally opened "...the day on which the Church commemorates the reception of the stigmata by St. Francis, the opening of the mission to follow on the saint's Feast Day, October 4th.

"Solemn High Mass was sung, and although the Fathers had bells, there was a free use of muskets, the ship in the harbor joining in with its swivel guns. The firing terrified the heathen so much that they would not allow themselves to be seen for several days. After this there was the chanting of the Te Deum and on the 8th there was a great banquet, for which two beeves were killed. A more wonderful achievement had come about than probably any of those present realized.

"All of this...happened in 1776, a year before [Junipero] Serra's arrival."

For subtitles click the script rectangle at the bottom of the video. To translate the language of the subtitles click the gear icon and pick your language.

"I think maybe the question needs to be asked why this congress would spend time today debating horse slaughter and debating orca whales; but yet we've become so numb to children, that the other debate [that of the illegal trafficking of the organs of aborted children] doesn't even seem to come up."

--Senator Lankford (R-OK) speaking on July 16th, 2015 (The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel).

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

At minute 25:25 of yesterday's video below, the end of the press conference introductions of the three bishops-elect of Los Angeles, some journalists asked about immigration reform. Here is how the Archbishop, His Excellency Archbishop José Horacio Gómez answered, indicating the human dignity of every immigrant.

Q.1 On the Church's position regarding the immigration problem.

The position of the Church is the same as it has been for the last 20--30 years, and that is that we are praying and working and asking for a comprehensive immigration reform, NOW!

Our concern is, obviously, the dignity of the human person and the unity of the family. So it is really sometimes sad to see that it has become just a political issue; when it is an issue of, a human issue, an issue of humanity.

The immigrants are, as I have said many times, men, women, children: people, just like us. And we need to find the solution to the broken immigration system that we have in our country. So we are totally committed to continue praying and working for immigration reform.

Q. 2 On Mr. Donald Trump's disparaging remark regarding immigrants.

Well, you know, I'm not a politician. I'm a pastor. So, I just haven't paid too much attention to what he said.

But, obviously, we want everybody to respect the dignity of the human person. Every immigrant that comes to this country is a human person, and deserves respect and consideration because they are just people like us: men and women with families, with children, children that need their parents.

So, we hope that everyone in this country continues to respect the dignity of the human person.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

These appointments are significant in that all three priests are fluent in Spanish as well as English, and their personal testimonies are quite personal. Very edifying. Thank you Pope Francis.
Notice also the high refinement and intelligent transparency of Archbishop Gomez. Deo Gratias!